General Atomics ASI Awarded $411M Drone Contract

The U.S. Army has awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. of Poway a $411 million contract for 29 unmanned aircraft, spares and additional hardware.

The fixed-price incentive contract is for the Army variant of GA-ASI’s Predator, called Gray Eagle. Work will be done in Poway and is expected to last through March 2015.

Two weeks prior to the announcement, GA-ASI reported that it has delivered 61 Gray Eagle aircraft to the Army and had 44 on order.

The Gray Eagle aircraft can carry four Hellfire missiles, cameras, other sophisticated imaging equipment and communications relay gear. It is able to stay aloft for 30 hours. Its engine can run on either jet or diesel fuel.